Takin' Akin to the Curb

Republicans desperately want Todd Akin to pull an Ayn Rand, go Galt, and drop out of the Missouri Senate race. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has already released a statement threatening to withdraw financial support “if he continues with this misguided campaign.” Mitt Romney, demonstrating his characteristic political courage by echoing every other person in the Republican Party, has called for Akin to leave the race. Despite this, Akin says he's staying in.

If he loses, and Claire McCaskill wins another term, he could cost Republicans control ofthe Senate. But that’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the damage Akin could do to the GOP this fall. Remember, Akin first entered the national spotlight at the beginningof this year, when he worked with Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan to redefine rape and limit the extent to which Medicaid could cover abortion services. The effort failed, but it introduced “forcible rape” to the political lexicon. With the economy as the foremost issue in voter’s minds, Ryan has been able to escape scrutiny for that episode in national politics. But the combination of Akin’s statement and the GOP’s platform—which calls for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion—have brought social issues back into thespotlight.

It’s hard to overstate how dangerous this is for Mitt Romney. If Democrats can tie Ryan to Akin, and make this election about whether the country wants to go backward on women’s rights, then Romney will have a hard breaking the threshold for victory. The good news is that, with the convention ahead, Romney has an opportunity to change the subject. Thebad news is that Akin isn’t going away—along with Romney’s tax returns and Bain Capital, he is almost certain to dog Romney and Ryan from now until November.

So They Say

"The other day, a British friend asked me if there was anything about the United States I disliked. I was happily on vacation and couldn’t think of anything. But now I remember. I really can’t stand America’s liberal bloggers."

—Niall Ferguson, who, in the wake of the backlash against his Newsweek cover story, has found something he dislikes more than Obama's economic record.

Daily Meme: July's Big $$$ Chill

Yesterday was the deadline for Federal Election Committee filings, and July marks the last filing period before donors go back to school and the fundraising truly ramps up in the three months before Election Day. So far, the narrative hasn't changed. Republicans are kicking Democrats' butt.

Poll of the Day

Todd Akin's verbal eruption on Sunday hasn't put much of a dent in the Missouri Senate race polls yet—according to Public Policy Polling, Akin still holds a one point lead over incumbent Claire McCaskill, leaving the race in the same place it's been since May.